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Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 500 party members have responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

63% of Lib Dem members approve of the Coalition’s record to date

LDV asked: Do you approve or disapprove of the Coalition Government’s record to date? (Comparison with January’s figures.)

63% (60%) – Approve

27% (28%) – Disapprove

9% (11%) – Don’t know / No opinion

Net approval: +36% (+32%)

There has been a small recovery in approval for the Coalition Government’s performance since January, up from +32% to +36%. Back in November, however, it stood at +44% (and in August +45%). That said, this still shows the Coalition rated positively by a 2:1 majority of Lib Dem members.

Here is a selection of your comments:

The bad things balance the good things at the moment

Their policies are Tory attacks on the poor.

It is a mess of a record and it needs to start making more sense soon – particularly for the Lib Dems

6 out of 10

Lib Dems have been allowed themselves to be lured into a blind alley. The party has to become much more robust in its dealings with the Tory leadership.

Some gains in civil liberties greatly offset by craven surrender to Tory economic and welfare policy.

Not sure. However I think U-turns are actually a good thing – there is nothing wrong with having a 2nd look and deciding the first decision wasn’t the right one.

Almost three-quarters of Lib Dem members expect Coalition to last til 2015

LDV asked: How long do you expect the coalition government will last? (Comparison with January’s figures)

3% (3%) – It will end this year, 2011

10% (11%) – It will last another year or two, until 2012-13

10% (8%) – It will last another three years, until 2014

72% (72%) – It will last the full term, until 2015

6% (6%) – Don’t know / No opinion

There has been remarkably little shift in members’ opinions on the longevity of the Coalition in the past three months. Just 13% think the Coalition might end prematurely within the next three years (though that’s up from 6% in November). Confidence in the ‘stickability’ of the Coalition remains high: while last summer fewer than two-thirds (63%) of members expected the Coalition to last the full term, that figure now stands at close to three-quarters (72%).

55% of Lib Dem member say Coalition will be bad for party’s election prospects

LDV asked: Do you think the Coalition Government will be good or bad for the Lib Dems’ electoral prospects at the next general election? (Comparison with November’s figures)

13% (13%) – Good

55% (53%) – Bad

17% (17%) – Neither good nor bad

15% (17%) – Don’t know / No opinion

No big shifts in opinion among Lib Dem members here — as in January, a slim majority believe it will prove to be bad for the Lib Dems, with 45% split between good, neutral and unsure.

Almost 1,300 Lib Dem paid-up party members are registered with LibDemVoice.org. Over 500 responded to the latest survey, which was conducted between 18th and 24th April.

Please note: we make no claims that the survey is fully representative of the Lib Dem membership as a whole. However, LibDemVoice.org’s surveys are the largest independent samples of the views of Lib Dem members across the country, and have in the past accurately predicted the winners of the contest for Party President, and the result of the conference decision to approve the Coalition agreement.